Twist On '03
by TomorrowNeverCame
Summary: Stupid title. When a burned-beyond-recognition body is found near an NCIS badge, all evidence points to Gibbs' ex-lover being dead.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm pretty sure in '03 Gibbs is married, but just pretend he's not. ******

**Also, for anyone who has started reading Playing With Fire, it is on pause for now.**

**Summary: When a burned-beyond-recognition body is found near an NCIS badge, all evidence leads to Gibbs' ex-lover being dead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

_The masked figures stepped out of the car and scanned the area before opening the trunk. They hauled the burned body from the back onto the park lawn and dragged it near the fountain. Placing the charred ID down next to it they walked quickly back to the car and sped away. It would be found soon enough; and the events would be put in motion._

_The masked woman sighed as she sunk into the passenger seat and watched the world outside tear by in a blur. A lone tear ran down her cheek. She had done some cruel things, but to but everyone through something like this would take the cake. But it had to be done, or it would all be over._

**Okay, I know it was super short but that's the way it's supposed to be. I will update ASAP, but I have finals next week so it might be delayed. I can barely remember yesterday! How can I ace tests on everything I learned this year!**

**Please review, I love to hear your opinion and please PM if you have suggestions. ******

**~Tomorrow**


	2. It Can't Be Her

**Hey everyone! I finally got time for this! I have been studying my brains out all last week, I think I aced my English and Science, got a B+ in History. Hope I did good on my others!******

**Disclaimer: don't own, blah, blah, blah.**

"I'm serious DiNozzo, shut it!" the raised voice of his newest agent greeted Gibbs as he stepped out of the elevator, the other soon to follow.

"Come on, Kate, what's his name?"

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled upon entering the bullpen and slapping his senior agent's head.

"Shutting up Boss," he responded accordingly.

"Have you finished the paperwork for the Coleman case yet?" at this the agents made no reply but sat and bean typing furiously. Gibbs also sat and booted up his computer, picking up the phone when it rang.

"Gibbs," he listened with growing anxiety as the Local LEO explained the situation..

"On our way," he snapped the phone shut and gathered his gear as the other two were already doing. He headed towards the elevator, throwing the keys over his shoulder to Tony.

"Tony, gas the truck, goin' to Freemond Park," the younger agent running to catch up.

"What's the case?" Kate asked, slipping in the elevator behind the two men.

"One of ours," came the gruff reply, "dead."

The drive was spent in an uncomfortable silence, each agent facing thoughts they'd rather not have. Who was it? Someone they knew or had worked with before? Did they have family? Why were they killed? Who killed them?

Gibbs, though, was having slightly different thoughts. Like trying to figure out why his gut was acting up far more than normal.

When they reached the crime scene, the two younger agents practically raced to the body to see who it was. They grabbed the gear silently and waited for instruction.

"Tony, photos. Kate, bag 'n' tag. Let's see who it was," Gibbs gave his agents orders and proceeded, with them following, to the body. At the site of the body Gibbs could tell that the case would be difficult, the body was thoroughly burned. Getting an ID would be hard if the one found with the body wasn't readable.

Gibbs nodded to Ducky as he got out of the van with Gerald.

"Gibbs, um, the ID found with the body, the name isn't readable but the picture isn't completely destroyed. Won't do much good, but it'll narrow the field," Kate handed him the badge went to talk to the people who found the body.

He studied the photo on the ID and almost fainted, realizing who the victim was. _It couldn't be. Not Jenny. _True, he hadn't seen or heard from her since she left four years ago, but it just couldn't be her. He refused to believe she was really dead.

Kate looked over to her Boss and was shocked at the look on his face. She had never seen him like that before, he looked……Sick.

The name was gone and the picture was spotty but he would recognize her smile anywhere. He turned from the scene and walked to meet Ducky where he was setting up the gurney.

"Duck," he got the attention of his old friend and held out the charred badge. He heard the old doctor gasp as, he too, realized what he was seeing.

"Dear Lord, it's Jennifer," his voice was sad and hesitant, as if he was waiting for Gibbs to tell him different. As much as he wanted to reassure the man, all Gibbs could do was nod, his voice failing him.

**Hehehe…… another cliffhanger. :D**

**Wonder what'll happen next.**

**Please review, or no updates. ******


	3. Not So Simple

**Hey! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, here's the next chapter for you. Sorry this will be up so late, I'm on vacation at my grandma's and internet is really hard to get.******

**I got 7 reviews for Chptr. 2 so thanks again. So you don't get confused, this skips ahead to back at HQ. Not Beta'ed so sorry for any mistakes. ******

**Disclaimer: I think you get the point by now. I don't own!!!!!!**

_Autopsy_

Ducky stood over the autopsy table and looked brokenly at the incinerated body that lay upon it, _poor Jennifer, she didn't deserve this fate._ He still could not believe this had happened; he had always pictured her retiring very old and only when the Director made her or dying heroically in firefight. Certainly not being burned, most likely alive, so early in her life.

"Oh Jennifer, I am so sorry dear," he heaved a sigh; he could only imagine how this would effect Jethro. His two dearest friends, once lovers, had been on many adventures and he knew they still cared for one another even though they refused to admit it. _Now, now, I mustn't waste time; Jethro will have the children working top speed to find the bastard who did this._

_Bullpen_

Tony looked across his desk at his partner, sitting opposite him, and exchanged a worried look. Something was special about this case, they knew that much, Gibbs had barely moved from his desk since they returned; didn't touch his coffee; didn't even stop Kate from driving on the way back.

Gibbs just couldn't comprehend what he was seeing; his ex-lover, ex-partner, best friend and the woman he still loved (though he would never admit it), dead, burned. He felt suffocated at the thought, but there was still something that didn't sit right with him. He couldn't put his finger on it but he knew something was wrong.

He wanted to get the case done quickly and the bastard caught but he knew he wasn't helping. He just sat at his desk, he wouldn't tell them that he knew yet, he needed time to sort this out before he told them who she was. No, he'd let them continue to look.

He stood suddenly; he couldn't sit still any longer. He had to do something, anything, to take his mind off _her_.

"Going for coffee," he grumbled as he brushed past his agents.

Kate watched her boss disappear into the elevator and walked over to Tony's desk as soon as the doors closed.

"What's up with him, Tony? He's been like this ever since he saw the body, does he know something?" Kate questioned.

"Only one way to find out, Katie,"

"Ducky," they said together.

_Autopsy_

"Hey Ducky," "Hi Ducky," they chorused, walking through the doors.

"Why hello Catlin, Anthony," Ducky greeted them and set down the scalpel he was holding.

"Do you know what's wrong with Gibbs, he seemed……… off after seeing our Jane Joe," Kate asked.

"Jane Doe?" Ducky repeated, his brow furrowed in confusion, "Oh! Yes, um, I've not actually seen Jethro since the crime scene,"

"He's totally zoned out, Duck," Tony said in a worried tone," he's just been sitting at his desk all afternoon, does he know something about the agent?"

"Well, you know how effected he is by cases like this,"

"Yeah, but it's different this time. Does he know who it is?" Ducky thought carefully,_ I shouldn't tell them, it's none of my business telling them she and Gibbs knew each other that should be Jethro's decision. _

"I'm afraid I don't know," Ducky sighed," I haven't seen him, if you want information he's the only one you'll get it from," Tony and Kate looked at each other before shaking their heads, both knew far better than to ask about it.

"Well, if you'll excuse me I must be getting on with the Autopsy," he paused a moment and looked past the two young agents, remembering.

_He walked down the Parisian street with Jenny on his left and Jethro next to her, his arm resting lightly on her waist. She laughed, a beautiful, light, tinkling sound, like bells. He couldn't even remember what they had been talking about._

_Jethro whispered something in her ear that made her laugh again. Ducky smiled, he was happy for his two friends and wondered if they realized just how wonderful they were together. _

He considered telling them just a little about the beautiful woman then decided against it, _Tony has I wild enough imagination, if I told him Gibbs had a gorgeous red-head for a partner……… oh my._

The two agents said their good-byes, still suspicious about the dead agent, but they didn't press the doctor and went to the bullpen. Trying to look busy if Gibbs came back early.

Back in Autopsy, Ducky sighed again and looked down at the body of his friend.

"Oh Jennifer, this is going to destroy him,"

_Abby's Lab_

Abby sat spinning sadly in her chair when Gibbs placed a Caff-Pow! down beside her. She jumped up and practically flew into Gibbs arms, hugging him tightly until he had to breathe.

"OhmygoshGibbs!Howcouldthishappen,ImeanIknowhowthiscouldhappenbutwhywasshekilledandshewasoneofoursandImeanIknowInevermetherbutstill—"

"Abs, breathe," her told her and let her go sit down, "what did you find?"

"Okay, well there's not much to go by. The body is to burned to get DNA and no chance of prints so I used the ID and badge," she pulled up a picture of the ID on the computer screen just as Kate and Tony came in,"hey guys! So the badge is pretty burned to but I got three prints off it, since I knew that she was in our agency, a woman and from what I could tell, a red-head, I narrowed it down and got a match. The agent with Duckman is Ms. Jennifer Shepard,"

A picture of a smiling Jenny popped up on a copy of her badge. Tony and Kate looked at each other with raised eyebrows, the same thought in their minds, _how does Gibbs know __**her**__? _

"Thanks Abs, you two, with me," Gibbs ordered as he left the Lab.

The elevator ride up was silent but when they got to their desks Gibbs seemed back to his old self.

"I want information on her,"

"What kind of info, Boss?" DiNozzo asked, instantly regretting it as his Boss's hand connected with his head,

"Anything and everything. I want to know what she was working on and where she was working it, get me a list of everyone she had contact with and have it done yesterday, I'm going to see Ducky," once he left the two looked after him, _yikes!_

_Autopsy (yet again)_

"Duck," Ducky glanced up from where he was (thankfully) examining another body, "Abby got prints of the ID tag,"

"It's really Jennifer then,"

"I don't know Duck," Ducky furrowed his brow in confusion trying to understand his friend,

"Didn't you just say—,"

"Yeah, but my gut says something's wrong. And I just can't believe she's really gone, what the hell was she doing here anyway? I thought she was still supposed to be in Egypt,"

"You keeping tabs on her Jethro?"

"Well last time you talked to her was three months ago and she was in Cairo, if she had been back in DC someone would have spread the word, unless no one knew she was back. But then what was she doing? It just doesn't make sense,"

"No, it doesn't. During our last conversation Jennifer mentioned that she would not be calling for about 5 months because of an undercover mission. She also said she was expecting to come home in about 6 months that she would call to get together when she was settled. Yet we find her dead 3 months before she was supposed to be in America."

"So someone got to her on her mission, brought her here and killed her it's that or she lied to us and had a mission here that got her in trouble,"

"Go home Jethro, this case has already taken a lot out of you and I have a feeling it will only get more complicated, you'll need your strength."

"I know, nothing was ever simple when it came to Jen," he sighed, "night Duck,"

_Bullpen_

"Tony, Kate, go home. We start at 0700 tomorrow," the agents were surprised but obeyed without question.

_Gibbs house (basement)_

Gibbs sat on the stool in his basement with a glass of bourbon, he had tried working on his boat but it did nothing to stop memories from flooding his mind. _Another one gone. Damnit! Why couldn't I protect her? I lost Shannon and Kelly, not Jenny too. Why did I loose her? At least I knew she was safe from Ducky, but she can't be dead. I know something is wrong with this case but what?!_

The shrill ringing of his cell phone interrupted Gibbs thoughts.

"Gibbs," he didn't really want to talk but his gut told him to answer the phone, so he did.

"Ah, Jethro nice to hear from you too," Fornell's sarcastic voice made him mad all over again,

"What do you want Tobias?"

"I need a favor,"

"Depends, what is it?"

"I need you to look after someone for me, their in a bit of trouble and I know you'll keep them safe,"

"Who is it?"

"You'll find out, and since we're sitting in your driveway you don't really have a choice,"

"You're where? Never mind. Fine," he hung up and looked out the living room window where he now was. Sure enough there was Fornell's car.

Still in his work clothes, he walked out of his house and greeted Fornell as he stepped out of the driver's seat.

"You'd better have a damn good reason for standing in me driveway at 2330 telling me to babysit,"

"Trust me Jethro, I do," he walked back to the car and leaned in, mumbling something to the passenger before straightening.

Gibbs watched as the woman stepped out of the car, his eyes widening in surprise. He eyed her carefully and even in the dark he knew. It was his Jenny.

She froze when she saw him. She had pictured this moment for weeks but she was still not prepared for how scared she was, after all, they had hardly left off on a good note.

Neither of them could move, but the silence had to be broken and Fornell wasn't **that** stupid. He didn't know what had happened between the two but Jenny's reaction to just the mention of his name gave him an idea.

It was killing her, she just wanted to run to him and have him hold her while she cried and begged for forgiveness but she knew he probably hated her. So she opted for speaking, she opened her mouth and closed it again, trying to swallow. In the end all she could do was choke out a whisper.

"Jethro," she choked out, almost inaudibly, but he heard it.

He was mad as hell at her: for leaving, and for getting herself in trouble. But taking in her appearance; her eyes staring intently at the ground, as if wishing it would swallow her whole; her fragile and hunched frame, hands clenched at her sides; the way she looked so nervous and scared of him; it made him promise he wouldn't take it out on her. He knew her well enough still to know what she was scared of; she was scared he hated her, and that he would reject her. Part of him did want to turn her away, show her how much it hurt. But no, he would help her; because, as mad as he was at her he still felt he needed to protect her, comfort her, show her he forgave her and loved her.

**Did you guys like? The next chapter might take a while because I' m not sure what they are going to say to each other or how they're going to act. Any ideas are greatly appreciated. :D Wonder what's gonna happen.**

**Oh! And since Fornell is there they might kill him for sticking them together. Does anyone care? LOL!!!**


	4. Okay, What DO You Know?

**Hey! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and helped me get this chapter done. Especially to Emeilia-Rose, MissJayne, NCISgirl1527 and Aserene who gave me ideas and decided that Fornell will not die.**

**If anyone has questions/comments or wants to talk to me please PM me! ******

**Disclaimer: I think you all get the point by now. I do not own. I never will.**

"Jen," he said with a small nod,

"Gibbs there are some things I would like to talk to you about," he glanced at Jenny who glared back, daring him to exclude her, "alone" he said anyway.

"Fine," Gibbs replied and Fornell nodded toward the house. Jenny looked back at Gibbs, asking silent permission to go inside to which he nodded. She left, but not before throwing a dangerous glare at Fornell.

"What is it Tobias?"

"Will you be okay with her staying here for a while? I mean, I don't know what happened between you two but she seemed really upset and nervous when I mentioned her staying with you."

"It won't be a problem, but exactly how long are you planning on her staying?"

"We don't have that much information on who's chasing her, only that someone is and they're very good. At the least? A few weeks,"

Gibbs groaned inwardly, this would be like walking on eggshells, but still, he wouldn't like it if she were anywhere else.

"Does she have any things?"

"Oh, yes here they are," he produced a small suitcase from the back seat and walked toward the house behind Gibbs.

They found here in the hall by the door, obviously waiting for them to let her in on the conversation. Fornell was the first to speak,

"Agent Shepard, you will be staying with Gibbs," he was trying to sound assertive but was hesitant, having been the victim of her wrath before.

"Well obviously, since we've been here for 15 minutes and you have my things," she retorted and Gibbs had to smile at how nervous she made his friend.

"Right, then I'll just be going," he said, already backing up and practically ran out the door.

"I'll put your things in the guest bedroom, 'kay Jen?" he watched her stare at the floor for a moment before realizing she didn't hear him, "Jen?" he said a bit louder.

"Oh! Huh?" she snapped out of her daze,

"I'll put your stuff in the spare room, okay?" she nodded and he left, telling her to make herself at home. He returned to find her sitting at the kitchen table, fidgeting, and had to smile at her discomfort. He watched as she winced when her stomach growled and he noticed how late it was, _she's probably hungry_.

"When was the last time you ate Jen?" she jumped a little at the sound of his voice but composed herself quickly and opened her mouth only to find she couldn't remember, _not good sign._ In the end she could only shrug.

"A few days ago I guess," then cringed as another wave of hunger pains hit her.

"You need food," he stated and picked up a menu for a Chinese place down the street and the phone. He placed an order for himself as well as Jenny without hesitation (which she had to smile at) and gave them the address. He then went down to the basement and told her to call him when they came, not liking the idea of her answering the door.

In his basement he didn't work but took the time to think, they would have to talk about what had happened and what she knew about what was happening now.

Ten minutes later she called to him that the food had arrived. He paid the woman and went back to the kitchen, helping Jenny unload the food and started eating.

"Thank you Jethro," she said quietly when she had finished,

"No problem," he brushed it off, "but now we need to talk," she tensed at that, "what's going on? Fornell told me that they don't know much," she relaxed and he knew what she meant he thought, "we'll have to talk about that too, Jen, but that's tomorrow's problem. Right now I'm just concerned about you staying safe," she nodded and smiled weakly at him, a silent thanks.

"I don't think I'll be much help, I really don't know anything. I don't know who's after me or why, when they started following me, what case it's connected with if there even is one…….."

"Okay…. What _do _you know?"

She gave a faint smile, "that someone is trying to kill me,"

"Okay, have they attacked you before?"

"Yes, but I don't know when they did,"

"Huh?"

"I've been on some very highly classified missions connecting to a drug ring but when ever something goes wrong or we confront them they kill themselves and we never get the Intel. I only know that I was the target because one guy slipped up, he said that others were sent but didn't say who or when." She yawned.

"You should rest Jen. When was the last time you got any real sleep?"

"Haven't slept in a week," she told him, having the good grace to look embarrassed, and got up to go to bed.

Gibbs retreated to his basement to sand the boat and think, what was he going to do come tomorrow? He loved Jenny and wanted to talk to her about her decision to leave but he didn't want to push her. And what was he going to do about work? He didn't want to leave her alone but he couldn't really bring her with him when they were investigating her murder. And if he didn't show up the team would most likely call him or come here and find out about Jenny. He didn't like it, but the only option was to leave her by herself.

He didn't doubt that she could take care of herself if someone came but he didn't want her to have to defend herself. He promised himself that he would call frequently and be home early.

He had just begun sanding another beam on his boat when he heard a scream from upstairs.

He bolted up the stairs with one thought on his mind, _Jenny._ If those bastards got her he would never forgive himself. He was supposed to be protecting her, _damnit!_

He ran into the spare bedroom with his weapon drawn to find Jenny, still asleep, thrashing her head violently with nightmares. He replaced his weapon and rushed to her side, he touched her hand and she bolted straight up in bed, her eyes wide and staring straight ahead unseeingly. Her chest heaved as she gasped for air like she had been running. Gibbs sat down next to her and wrapped his arms silently around her fragile frame, pulling her close as she began sobbing into his chest. He brushed his hand through her hair and rocked her gently, whispering to her that he was here and she was safe.

After a few minutes her breathing evened and she fell asleep, still in his embrace. He went to pull away and let her rest but when he tried her grip on his shirt tightened and she whimpered, so he kicked off his shoes and moved them slowly till they were laying down her head still buried in his chest.

She might be mad in the morning but for now she needed the comfort, however unconsciously. And, though he denied it, he needed the comfort too. So he allowed himself to drift to sleep with her by his side.

**How did you like it? And special thanks to aserene for her line that I used '**but that's tomorrow's problem. Right now I'm just concerned about you staying safe' **and thanks to everyone who has kept with this story. Next chapter will be up soon! Trust me, I'm on my first week of vacation and have lots of time on my hands. :D**


	5. Living with exlovers

**Oh My God, it's an update! So sorry it's been so long, I've been getting a little side tracked. Thanks to everyone for sticking with this, I promise to have the next chapter done quicker.**

**This might be a little boring but the next chapter will have the talk.**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own I never will.**

Jenny woke up and immediately tensed before remembering the events of the night before. She looked around her, Gibbs still had his arms around her and her head was tucked under his chin. She knew this was a very bad way to enforce her decision to leave, falling asleep with him the first night. But, did she really want to enforce it? She looked past her companion to the window, _still dark. No sense in waking him up, there'll just be explanations and it's not like I don't like it. Wait! __**You **__left __**him**__ Jenny. You can't do this! Still, might as well just go back to sleep. _

With that she settled down, laying her head on his shoulder and sighed. This was **so **not helping her, the whole time she had been preparing for this was spent battling not-so-old feelings about whether she made the right choice. And even if she did want a second chance she would never get it after what she did to him. _Hold on. Did I really just think about wanting a second chance with him? Oh hell yes! This is __**so**__ not good. You've done it now Jenny, you could have any man you want and still you choose the one man you can't. _She sighed again and fell back asleep, her breathing matching his.

Gibbs woke to the sound of his phone vibrating in his pocket. He looked out the window where the first rays of light were peeking through the curtains and then down at the beautiful red-head in his arms. He smiled softly at how peaceful she looked and decided it wouldn't hurt if he slept a little longer, as long as he got up before she woke. He didn't know what her reaction would be or if she even remembered what happened. He looked down at Jenny, just watching her sleep, and made up his mind. _I'll just lay here for a while; I really don't need to get up for another half hour anyway. _He relaxed and settled back in, pulling Jenny tighter to him and closed his eyes. _Just for a few minutes. _He told himself.

_Shit! _That was his first thought when he woke up, an hour and a half later than he was supposed to be at work. He started to get out of bed but stopped when the woman next to him stirred. Waiting till she settled back against him, he slid out the rest of the way and, making sure was comfortable, went down to the kitchen and made coffee for the both of them.

He heard her come down the hallway and stop in the door. He handed her the coffee without a word, both obeying the silent agreement to not mention the previous night.

"Thank you," she said quietly, he knew it was for more than just the coffee. He smiled at her and was happy when she returned it, they stood for a few moments just watching each other until the buzzing of his phone reminded him of the time. He frowned a little at the thought of leaving her alone but he didn't really have a choice, unless he wanted DiNozzo, Kate and Abby calling him all day. Grabbed his car keys and phone while giving her instructions.

"Be careful, okay Jen?" she nodded, "lock the door and don't go near the windows—,"

She rolled her eyes, "Jethro, I'm an agent too, I can take care of myself. And when you get back," she sighed, "we'll talk," she gave him a weak smile to reassure him but saw the worry in his eyes.

"Hey Kate, psst! Kate!" Tony whispered loudly across the bullpen,

"What DiNozzo?" she answered normally in a bored tone,

"Where's the Boss? He should've been here almost two hours ago, think he had a good night?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows,

"DiNozzo! How could you even think about that? Oh wait, I forgot, it's **you**," she retorted,

"Well, do you have a better idea?" Kate opened her mouth to reply when a new voice sounded in the bullpen,

"I have some better ideas about how you could be spending your time tonight than doing desk work, DiNozzo," Kate smirked, he would never learn.

"Hey Boss!" he said, cringing when a hand connected with the back of his head.

"Any leads?"

"Uh no, but I found out where agent Shepard was working and talked to her commanding officer. Gibbs, she was working in Egypt, not to be back for 3 more months. What was she doing **here? ** No one even knew she left, the Mossad officer in charge of the mission was conducting a search for her already!"

"Well that's what you're supposed to be finding out, Kate,"

"Hey Boss?" Tony called looking intently at his computer screen, "um, I found her file, she was on your team?" both agents looked at Gibbs in mild shock; _well, no point denying it now._

"Yes, Agent Shepard was on my team. Haven't seen her in four years," he said, as if it was the most common knowledge in the world.

"That explains why you said so little at the crime scene, you knew it was her. Gibbs, why didn't you tell us?"

"Wanted to double check before I said anything," he shrugged, truthfully, he was to upset to say a word; but he'd be damned if he told them that. He picked up his desk phone on the third ring, not really noticing it till now.

"Yeah, Gibbs," he listed to Ducky's assistant, Gerald, tell him to come down before hanging up, "I'm going to see Ducky, I want something by the time I get back," he told his agents as he walked toward the elevator. Once inside he stopped and dialed his house number. He wasn't bothered when she didn't pick up, the lines could be tapped so he would leave a message pretending she was his wife; coded talking was something he had taught her and his team for passing information so it would work just as well now. He waited till he heard the answering machine to speak.

"Hey honey, just calling to check—," the phone picked up then,

"Hi hon. How's work going?" she said in the same way,

"Nothing big yet, just the current, er, project. How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine, so is the baby. Bored, but fine," she sighed, "coming home late again?"

"I'll try to be home early. But if we get something I'll let you know. I'd better go now; I was supposed to go see Donald,"

"Alright, see you at home," she hung up and sat down at the kitchen table, burying her face in her hands. It felt so natural, pretending she was his loving wife staying home on maternity leave. She was in trouble with herself and she knew it. It was to easy to imagine being with him again, being in love with him and having him love her. She wasn't even imagining the former any more, _what have you done to yourself Jenny? You've fallen back in love with him. Correction, you never fell out. What happened? Why'd you even leave in the first place? That's right, your damn career. _

Well, her career was working out so well now; she was dead.

_Autopsy_

"Hey Duck, whatcha got?" Gibbs strode into Autopsy, _feeling much better than yesterday_, his friend observed.

"Well, it appears that dear Jennifer was not burned to death, but was rather stabbed in the abdomen. With a small knife from the looks of it," he said, indicating five small puncture wounds on the body and observing Gibbs reaction carefully. _He seems much better than before, but then, he was always good at concealing his emotions. I imagine this has hurt him much more than he is letting on._

Gibbs paid no attention as Ducky studied him, lost in his own thoughts, _puncture wounds killed this woman. But who killed her? And who was she really? Jen might know; I'll ask her about it tonight. _

"The body was burned post-mortem. I would think it would to prevent identification but they left the ID at the scene," he turned back to the body, "what were they trying to hide?"

"That's a good question, Duck," he said, already on his way out.

_Abby's Lab_

"Gibbs!!!" Abby yelled as she hurled herself at Gibbs, engulfing him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Tony told me about Agent Shepard, oh my god, Gibbs, why didn't you tell us! No wonder you've been so grumpy lately, she was your partner and—,"

"Abs!" he interrupted the goth's ramblings and released himself from her grip, "it's okay, Abby," he said calmly and held up a Caff-Pow!

She snatched the drink from his hand and quickly hugged him again before turning to her machines.

"Okay, I don't know what kind of knife was used to kill her and there's a very small chance I'll find out since the wounds were distorted by the burning. But, I think I know how she was burned," she paused and looked at Gibbs,

"You gonna tell me, Abs?"

"Right, um, I found traces of lighter fluid on the skin, or what was left of it. Nothing special, they probably used a lighter or match to ignite but she was not burned or killed at the park, just dumped," she finished,

"Good job Abby," he told her, kissing her cheek before he left.

**Okay, after the next chapter you are not going to hear about the case much and it will be going cold, since no one actually killed Jenny and between working with Gibb and Ziva she's pissed off a lot of people.**

**Next chapter will be the dreaded talk, if you have any ideas for the future of the fic then I would love to hear them, no promises though.**

**:D Tomorrow**


	6. The Talk

_**Bonjour! Je me'appelle Tomorrow! **_**Hey everyone! I meant to have this up at the beginning of the week but I was stressing about starting school. I just started Monday and I love French class! So from now on updates will be going slower (though hopefully not much, considering how awesome I am about it)**

**Yay! I have finally completed one of my many goals in life and hooked my very best friend on NCIS! **

**Well, I actually had the talk done about a month ago……… and then I rewrote it 6 times. I finally got it to come out the way I wanted it to!**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and stuck with me! I hope I've met your expectations for this one. :D**

**Disclaimer: I will never own. But a girl can dream right?**

**________________________________________________________________________ **

_Bullpen_

"Boss!" Tony jumped up as Gibbs entered the bullpen, "I found some one who might be able to help us," now that got his attention.

"Who DiNozzo?" he barked,

"Agent Shepard's partner in Cairo, um, Mossad Officer Ziva Dah-veed. I'm trying to contact her now,"

"No need," the new voice in the bullpen made Tony jump and drop his phone before turning to look at the woman who spoke: she was definitely Middle Eastern and had tan skin and curly, dark brown hair with a thick, Israeli accent. "I am Officer David. Deputy Director David has sent me to join your investigation." She said in a voice that made it clear there was no debating.

"What makes you think we'll let you?" Gibbs retorted anyways, he had no idea who this woman was or who's side she was really on.

Ziva sighed, Jenny wasn't kidding when she said Gibbs didn't like people trying to interfere.

"Ms. Shepard was working some very high class missions, we need to be sure no Intel got into the wrong hands. Besides that, she was my friend and I would like very much to catch her murderer," she said calmly, she clearly expected to win.

Gibbs had to think, she was Mossad so she could've worked with Jen, _but she doesn't know Jenny's alive so having her here could be dangerous. I'll ask Jen if we can trust her. _

"Stay here," he growled at her before going to the elevator. Once inside he dialed his home line and waited for it to go to voicemail once again.

"Hey Jen, I need to ask you abo—," he was cut off as the phone was picked up,

"Hi, what did you need?" she answered,

"A woman just showed up here to assist with the case, a Ziva David, Mossad. Can we trust her?"

"Ziva? What is she doing here?" she mumbled to herself before answering him, "yes, you can trust her. She was my partner in Egypt and a great friend,"

"Does she know?"

"Oh, she knows alright, she's the one who got me out of there. Will you, um, tell her that I'm safe," he could tell from her voice that she cared about the woman and made a mental note to ask her about their time together. He said goodbye and hung up as he stepped back out of the elevator.

"Alright, David, you're on the case," his two agents turned to look at him in shock; their boss didn't **share **cases, he started turf wars about them!

________________________________________________________________________

"Jen?" Gibbs called out as he stepped through his font door, making sure to lock it behind him.

"I'm here," she said, stepping into the hall from the living room and eyeing the bag of takeout he was holding. He noticed her staring and smiled, motioned to her to go into the kitchen. She smiled as she took out the sesame chicken he got for her but he noticed the constant look of worry in her eyes.

They ate in silence, Gibbs thought it would've been nice if it weren't for Jenny reminding him of their situation with her constant fidgeting.

When they were done he cleared the dishes and joined her on the couch where she was watching tv. After a little while, he turned the television off and turned to look at her.

"I think we should talk now," she nodded and pulled her legs up onto the couch. For a few moments he just looked at her before starting softly,

"Y'know, after you left I spent months trying to figure out what I did or didn't do to make you leave. I'm still trying to."

"Jethro, **please **don't think that! This was not your fault," she begged him, despaired that he thought that.

"Then why did you go?" he pressed, after nearly four years of wracking his brain he was going to find out.

She lowered her eyes and hugged her knees tighter to her chest, when she spoke her voice was just a shaky whisper.

"I was scared," whatever he was expecting it wasn't this, what had she been afraid of?

"I was scared because I love you more than I ever thought possible and I couldn't imagine ever being without you. I was afraid that when we went home things would be different and we wouldn't last, and I don't think I could work with you then," she took a deep breath, "and that scared me out of my mind. The only solution I saw was to break us before we fell apart.

"And it killed me to leave but I did. And please believe me that there's never been a moment I didn't want to take it all back," she choked the last words out, silent tears running down her cheeks. He reached over to her and wiped the wetness away before pulling her into her side. She didn't protest, but snuggled closer as he ran his hand soothingly over her arm.

"Jenny, please don't cry, you know I hate it when you cry," he whispered to her, it always broke his heart. She was such a strong woman, and when she got to the point of tears there was often nothing he could do.

"I know. Please, Jethro, please forgive me. I—I hate myself for what I did to you and I don't want you to hate me too,"

"I don't hate you, Jenny, I could never hate you," he told her, lifting her chin so she met his eyes and pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. She responded instantly to his touch and parted her lips slightly, allowing him to deepen the kiss.

"Jethro—Jethro I love you," she said in between kisses. He paused a moment and started into her emerald eyes, filled with love.

"I love you too, Jenny," he told her, proving his point with another heart stopping kiss. She smiled against his mouth and linked her arms around his neck. He tugged at the hem of her blouse and she stood up with him, linking their hands as he led her to his bedroom.

**________________________________________________________________________ **

**Okay, if you seriously can't figure out what happens after that. **

**I know this was a bit short but I could not get it any longer. I had up to where Ziva joins the investigation and the talk written but couldn't figure out what to write in the middle, and then tonight I was just 'okay I am **done **with this! I'm just cutting to Gibbs going home!'**

**I really hope you liked this! :D ******** ;D**


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